


How Many Times Harry's Nearly Died

by 0Aratay0



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry's many adventures, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Era, Pre-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Weasleys and Sirius and Remus find out how many times Harry's nearly died at Hogwarts, end of year adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28995561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0Aratay0/pseuds/0Aratay0
Summary: Sirius, Remus, and the Weasley's find out how much danger Harry, Ron, and Hermione get into while at Hogwarts.Set in the summer before fifth year.Also posted on Wattpad.I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter. Everything to do with the world; the characters, places, and situations all belong to the original author, J. K. Rowling.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	1. What the Hell Goes on at Hogwarts?

Harry slumped down in his chair at the kitchen table. It was the day after his trial for using magic outside of school. The party that had been thrown in celebration of him getting off had lasted all night and now he was exhausted. It didn't help that he had been struggling to sleep as it was, and always woke up early, especially after being with the Dursleys for any period of time. He had been plagued with nightmares for as long as he could remember, and they had only gotten worse once he started at Hogwarts. And after last year, they had increased so much that he barely managed to get a couple hours every night.

Sirius dropped into the seat next to him while Remus moved over to the kitchen. Harry watched as Remus prepared a cup of tea before he took a seat opposite Harry. Remus pushed a second mug over to him. Harry took it with a nod of thanks, simply holding the hot drink between his hands, not feeling like actually drinking it.

"How did you sleep Harry?" Remus asked.

"Fine, I guess," he replied with a shrug.

"You look tired kiddo," Sirius said, his hand reaching out to gently trace the dark circles under his eyes.

"Nightmares," Harry murmured with a shrug. He didn't want to worry either man, they didn't need to deal with it. Besides, he was old enough to handle it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sirius offered. Harry shook his head.

"It helps to talk about these things. Was it about what happened at the end of the year?" Remus pressed. Harry shrugged. When it became evident that neither man would accept that explanation and were going to stay until he talked, he sighed.

"Sometimes."

"It's ok to have nightmares about that night Harry. You saw someone be murdered. You were tortured. You almost died," Remus said, his voice gentle and reassuring.

"Are you sure it doesn't make me weak? I mean, I shouldn't wake up screaming or be terrified of falling asleep. Besides, that wasn't even the first time that I've almost died," Harry said. He completely overlooked the fact that he had nightmares about some of the other instances too, especially the more extreme ones, like the end of year 'adventures'. That was irrelevant and they didn't need to know that.

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked.

"What?"

"That wasn't the first time you've almost died?" Harry shrugged.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I've probably nearly died as many times as Hermione's read Hogwarts; A History." He honestly didn't see what the big deal was. Hadn't anyone told them about his time at Hogwarts? They must have by now, especially since Ron and Hermione had lived with them for at least a week or two. He saw Remus exchange a look with Sirius.

"That is a very concerning comparison Harry. That isn't even a comparison that you should be able to make," Remus said, concern lining his tone.

"Still a valid comparison," he muttered, staring down at the tea in his hands.

"Where the hell have you almost died?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Um, Hogwarts," he said hesitantly. He was going to hazard a guess and say, based on how they were reacting, that no one had actually told them about everything that happened while he was at school.

"Are you just talking about third year. When Remus almost attacked you?" Sirius asked.

"No," he said slowly. Yep, no one had told them about his 'adventures' every year. He would get the honor of explaining everything to someone who had broken out of prison because he might have been in danger. Great.

"That's right. You almost died earlier in the year. When the dementors came to the match. That's all, right?" Remus asked.

"What are we talking about?" Ron asked, pushing open the door and entering the room.

"How many times that I've nearly died, apparently," Harry said glumly. He really didn't want to have this conversation. He had honestly thought he had dodged the bullet that was telling his godfather about his time at Hogwarts, and that someone else had done it.

"Well, you have nearly died about as many times as Hermione's read Hogwarts; A History, mate."

"True," Hermione agreed, coming into the room behind Ron. Sirius and Remus stared at Hermione as she and Ron took the seats next to, and across from, Harry.

"That is still a very concerning comparison," Remus murmured.

"What started the conversation? Did you nearly die again Harry? Because it's getting very repetitive, you nearly dying on us", Hermione said exasperatedly.

"It's not like it's my fault. And it doesn't seem very repetitive to me, thanks. It's different each time and just as terrifying," Harry defended himself.

"I mean, Hermione's right mate. Please stop almost dying on us." Harry sent Ron a look of betrayal.

"It's not my fault," he exclaimed.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't happen," Ron said.

"Every year Harry. I swear, I'm going to die young from stress alone," Hermione said. Harry pushed his undrunk tea away so that he could rest his head on his arms. His friends were traitors.

"Every year," Sirius choked out. Hermione hummed and nodded absently as she took the tea that Harry hadn't drunk to hold herself.

"Oh yeah. He must have broken a record by now. Or at least set one," Ron agreed.

"It's not that much," Harry said, raising his head off his arms.

"It really is, Harry," Hermione agreed.

"Ok, yeah, it's a lot," he relented a few second later.

"How many times have you nearly died Harry?" Remus asked, sounding as though he didn't really want to know the answer.

"I'm not entirely sure actually. First in first year was Quidditch first, I think?" he looked over to Ron and Hermione.

"No, Halloween was first," Hermione corrected.

"Don't forget Fluffy," Ron put in.

"Right. I had forgotten about Fluffy. Don't know how I forgot about Halloween though. So, there was Fluffy, Halloween, Quidditch, the forest, and the trap door," he said, counting them off on his fingers.

"Would you count the trap door as a few though? I mean, there was all the obstacles," Ron suggested.

"Nah, I'm just counting them as one encounter," Harry said.

"Right, makes sense. Best not to give them a heart attack by counting each obstacle as a separate time," Ron agreed. Harry smiled slightly, glancing over at his godfather beside him. Sirius looked very pale and his breathing had picked up slightly.

"Five time. You almost died five times. In first year," Sirius said, slightly hysterically. Harry shrugged. He didn't see why Sirius was panicking so much. Alright, yeah, he almost died. But he didn't. And it was in the past.

"Second year was the Quidditch again, the spiders..." he was interrupted by Ron.

"You forgot the tree at the start of the year. I mean, that very much wanted to kill us." Harry nodded. The Whomping Willow very much seemed like it wanted to kill them when they crashed into it. Probably would have if the car hadn't gotten a mind of its own and moved before throwing them out.

"You're right. So, it was the tree, Quidditch again, the spiders, a very large snake, and Malfoy," he listed, again counting them off on his fingers. He figured that he should probably tell them the full information, such as what was really involved. But he thought they really might have a heart attack if he told them Voldemort was involved three of the ten times he had already mentioned, four if you counted the first Quidditch incident, plus the Basilisk and Acromantula. And the fact the Lucius Malfoy had tried to kill him.

"I'm sorry. I swear you said that you almost died ten time in your first two years at Hogwarts," Remus said, his voice painfully calm as if he was trying to stop himself from panicking too much.

"Yeah. Ron might actually be right in that I set a record of how many times I've almost died," he said, shrugging.

"Ten times. In two years. You were eleven and twelve," Sirius protested.

"And that's only his first two years," Hermione said softly.

"What do you mean that was only his first two years? How can it get worse?" Sirius asked, pulling on his hair slightly.

"Pads, you know what happened during his third year and last year," Remus said, putting his hand on the panicking Animagus arm.

"Do you want to continue with your list Harry?" Ron asked lightly. Harry shrugged.

"Why not. I'm over half way there. Third year had less than the others. Are you two going to have a heart attack if I keep going?" He looked towards the two men in the room.

"Continue Harry," Remus said with a small smile.

"Well, third year had Quidditch, again. Then Remus almost killed us. And there was the dementors around the lake that really wanted to take my soul."

"Honestly, I'd never noticed before how much you nearly die in Quidditch. Why the hell do you keep wanting to play?" Hermione said. Harry and Ron sent her scandalized looks.

\"Not want to play. You're insane Hermione. Quidditch is awesome," Ron said.

"But Harry's nearly died three times playing Quidditch," Hermione protested.

"But I didn't die. And there is no way that I am giving up Quidditch," Harry said.

"I will agree to disagree on this. And personally, I would add the turn back as well," Hermione said, pushing the tea away and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Would you?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah. I mean, the amount of times you wanted to interfere, which would have ended in you dying was a few."

"Would you then double Remus and dementors, since they both happened during the turn back?"

"I wouldn't. I would just count that whole experience as one, like you're doing with the trap door." Harry nodded.

"Ok. So, third year was quidditch again, Remus, dementors, and the turn back. Then fourth year was the whole thing with the Tournament. I think I broke my record last year, actually. There was each task which almost killed me in one way or another. So, the dragon, the lake, and the maze," he said, counting the three instances off on his fingers.

"Broke your record?" Sirius repeated.

"Yeah. Pretty sure there was more than five instances, but I'm not sure. We'll see. Anyway, the dragon, the lake, the maze, then there was that encounter with Crouch. Would you count that? He was crazy, but he didn't actually seem to pose a threat. Yeah, I won't count that one," he decided. "Then there was the graveyard, and then the whole disaster afterwards with Fake Moody. So, five times last year as well." He looked up to see Sirius and Remus staring at him.

"I'm sorry, but I swear you basically told us that you nearly died 19 times in four years," Remus said, his voice still painfully calm.

"Yeah." He shrugged again. Seriously, it was in the past, what was the big deal.

"What the hell goes on at Hogwarts that resulted in you almost dying on 19 separate occasions!" Sirius demanded.

"As I said, Fluffy, Halloween, Quidditch, the forest, the trap door, a tree, Quidditch again, spiders, a very large snake, Malfoy, Quidditch yet again, Remus, dementors, the turn back, the dragon, the lake, the maze, the graveyard, and Fake Moody," Harry repeated with a small smirk. "I already told you this."

"And where were you two when Harry was almost dying?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, you know. Trying to stop Harry dying," Hermione said.

"Or nearly dying ourselves," Ron added.

"And does your mother know about this?" Remus asked. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all exchanged small smiles before Ron turned to face Remus.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he said brightly.

"What won't hurt who?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she entered the room, heading directly to the kitchen to start making breakfast, the rest of the Weasleys following close behind.  
"Nothing mum," Ron replied quickly.

"Ronald. I have heard that excuse too many times from your brothers. What won't hurt who?" Mrs. Weasley turned around and pinned Ron with a stern look, hands on her hips.

"Ooh, what did ickle Ronnikins do?" Fred asked.

"Molly, do you happen to know how many times Harry has almost died during the school year?" Sirius asked, successfully redirecting Mrs. Weasley's attention off Ron, which Ron seemed thankful for if the big sigh was anything to go by.

"Well, there was the end of first year, and then everything that happened last year. I would say three times, possibly four, depending on what happened in the lake. Why?"

"We were just discussing how many times Harry has nearly died, and then asked Ron and Hermione where they were during those occasions. Their answer was trying to stop Harry from dying or nearly dying themselves. We were simply wondering how many of those occasions you were aware of," Remus answered.

"So Harrikins, how many times have you nearly died?" George asked.

"About as many times as Hermione has read Hogwarts; A History. Possibly more, now that we've actually counted," Harry replied pleasantly. Fred, George, and Ginny all stared at him. It was a running joke in Gryffindor about how many times Hermione had read Hogwarts; A History, so they knew that the number had to be high.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, I know that the Chamber ended in you nearly dying, considering you were covered in blood when I woke up, and the Tournament and everything. But that many times?" Ginny said.

"Yeah," he shrugged again.

"You are all making it sound like a huge number. It can't be that many times," Mr. Weasley interjected.

"And honestly Ginny, Harry didn't almost die during that, he was fine when he came up," Mrs. Weasley added. 

"Yes, he did. He was bitten when he killed the-"

"Very large snake," Harry finished, cutting Ginny off before she could say Basilisk. He very much like Sirius and Remus and didn't want them to have a heart attack or anything. Plus, he had a feeling that Sirius could get slightly overprotective, and he liked not being layered in protection and tracking charms, thank you very much. Ginny glared at him, but didn't say anything, which he was thankful for. Plus, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley most likely didn't know that it had been a Basilisk either, considering they had left with Ginny for the hospital wing before he had told his story, he knew Ron hadn't told them and he was pretty sure Ginny hadn't.

"I know you've told us what happened, at least what caused each incident, but I would very much like to hear each story," Remus said.

"Yes, I would very much like to hear exactly how you nearly died on 19 separate occasions," Sirius agreed.

"Nineteen!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Harry nodded wearily.

"Yes, I have nearly died 19 times during the past four school years. But I'm still alive and it's in the past. But if you really want to know, I guess that I can tell you. But we are moving somewhere more comfortable," he said, internally wincing. The reactions to some of the details wouldn't be good. This would be fun.


	2. Fluffy, Halloween, and Quidditch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio explain about their first encounter with Fluffy, what happened on the Halloween that created their friendship, and Harry's first Quidditch match.

The whole group got comfortable in the living room after they had eaten breakfast, the topic put aside for a while as they ate, and everyone turned their attention to Harry, who was sitting on a couch between Ron and Hermione. He had insisted that they aid in the story telling, considering they had been there for basically every occasion, or the lead up to each occasion. Plus, he really didn't want to explain everything, and didn't want to be alone in the blame and other reactions that the adults would have.

"So, where should I start?" Harry asked. "We have plenty to choose from."

"How about you work down the list that you gave us," Remus suggested.

"Alright, so first, Fluffy." He nodded, trying to work out how to start that story. He eventually turned to face Fred and George.

"Do you two remember Dumbledore's warning at the start-of-term feast?" he asked. They both nodded.

"Honestly, telling a bunch of teenagers not to go into a forbidden corridor was stupid," George said.

"Telling teenagers not to go somewhere, especially with the reason he gave, is like daring them to go investigate," Fred added.

"For those of you who don't know, Dumbledore's warning was 'and finally, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out-of-bounds to anyone who doesn't wish to die a very painful death'," Hermione told the adults and Ginny. Sirius frowned.

"If he had said something like that while we were at school, we definitely would have taken it as a challenge," Sirius agreed. Remus nodded.

"That definitely wasn't Dumbledore's best idea."

"Oh, and it would have been a very painful death," Ron said as an afterthought.

"So, the third-floor corridor is how you nearly died. Where does Fluffy come into this?" Sirius asked.

"Let me tell the story. Malfoy had challenged us to a midnight duel, and we were stupid enough to accept. Hermione tried to stop us and then the Fat Lady had left, meaning she had to tag along. She wasn't actually our friend yet at that point, but it was only the second week of the year. Then Neville joined us because he had forgotten the password and was stuck outside the common room after coming back from the hospital wing," Harry began.

"When we got to the trophy room, where Malfoy had said to meet, instead of finding Malfoy, we found Filch. So, we ran. We didn't really pay attention to where we were heading, we just wanted to lose Filch. But we ran into Peeves and he started bellowing that there was students out of bed," Ron picked up easily.

"The only door nearby was locked, but I used alohomora to unlock it and we slipped inside. Filch didn't find us, but we found out why the door was locked. It was the door to the third-floor forbidden corridor. And Fluffy was why it was forbidden," Hermione continued.

"And Fluffy, who Hagrid named and owns, just happened to be a 20-foot three-headed dog. Considering that Fluffy was growling and looking incredibly threatening, snapping about while lunging at us, but not actually touching us, we bolted. We closed the door behind us and ran back to the common room. And that was my first near-death experience," Harry finished.

"There was a Cerberus, locked in the school. And the only thing separating said Cerberus from all the students was a door locked by a spell that could be undone by a first year. That's lovely," Remus commented.

"Yeah, the whole business with the third-floor corridor wasn't the safest or smartest plant that Dumbledore ever had."

"Halloween was next, wasn't it?" Ginny asked. Fred and George grinned.

"The rumors surrounding what happened on Halloween were awesome," Fred said.

"Were any of them real or close to the truth?" George asked, eagerly leaning forward. Harry bit his lip, trying to remember the rumors that had spread after the whole troll incident.

"I think one or two were pretty close, actually. None were real, but some were very close," Hermione said.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, also leaning forward eagerly.

"Well, for background knowledge, you need to know that Ron said something insensitive about Hermione between classes and Hermione heard and got upset about it. She locked herself in the bathroom crying, and wasn't seen for the rest of the day, because what Ron said was probably the tipping point. Anyway, we were at the feast when suddenly, Quirrell burst in, yelling his head off," Harry said, grimacing slightly at Quirrell's name.

"Troll in the dungeons. Troll in the dungeons. Thought you ought to know," Fred and George said together, in a very good impersonation of Quirrell.

"He fainted and the whole hall erupted into noise. It took a couple of fireworks from Dumbledore to make everyone shut up. He ordered the prefects to take everyone back to the common rooms. As we were leaving, Harry remembered that Hermione didn't know about the troll. We were going to tell a prefect, but they were all busy, and all the teachers had already left. So we went to find her ourselves. The troll was in the dungeons, and Hermione was on the first floor, we should have been fine," Ron continued. Harry knew that he had added the information about the Prefects and teachers so that his mum didn't blow up too much after the story, which he was thankful for.

"Except that didn't go to plan. We saw the troll as we looked for Hermione. The troll went into a room and, not knowing what room it was, we locked the troll in. We thought it would be safe if the troll was locked in a room. Until we realized that the room just happened to be the bathroom Hermione was in," Harry said, continuing the story.

"We went in and tried to distract the troll so that Hermione could get out. She was stuck in one of the cubicles that had been destroyed by the trolls club. Harry managed to attract the trolls attention so Hemione was able to get out, and then I used wingardium leviosa to levitate the trolls club, which I then dropped on the trolls head, knocking it out," Ron finished. Harry was again glad that Ron had changed the story slightly. There was no reason that they needed to know that he had jumped on the troll's back.

"Were you ok Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I was. I was incredibly shaken, but otherwise I was unharmed. And that's when we became friends, so I did gain something out of the experience."

"There was a rumor that you jumped on the troll's back and shoved your wand up its nose," George said.

"Was it true?" Fred asked eagerly. Harry winced slightly. He really hadn't wanted his godfather to find out about that, but he hated lying, especially to Fred and George, who he was quite close to. He nodded slightly, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Harry James Potter, what were you thinking when you jumped on a troll's back?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Uh, I wasn't?" he offered. Sirius pinned him with an unimpressed look before sighing.

"You said that Quidditch was the next time you almost died. Did a bludger nearly hit you in the stands or something?" he asked. Harry grinned, suddenly remembering that he hadn't told Sirius or Remus how, or when, he'd gotten onto the Quidditch team.

"Well, I did almost get hit by a bludger, but that wasn't how I almost died. And having a bludger hit me in the stands would have been impressive and very unlikely, considering I was on a broom and in the air during the first game of the year," he said.

"You got on the team in first year," Remus breathed.

"Oh yeah, little Harrikins is amazing. We didn't have a seeker try out, and the one from the year before had quit because they ended up in the hospital wing way too much for their taste, both before the game and from incidents during the game," Fred said.

"And then Oliver was grinning madly at our next practice because McGonagall had found a seeker that made a catch that even Charlie couldn't have made. Little Harrikins here managed to catch a ball after 50-foot dive, the first time on a broom, without a scratch," George said.

"Impressive. So, how did you nearly die during your first Quidditch game?" Sirius asked.

"Well, the game was going well, and I was staying out of the way while looking for the snitch. I saw it and dove, but Flint blocked me. When I went back to circling the game, my broom started lurching and bucking. It was like it was trying to throw me off. Fred and George tried to pull me off and onto one of their brooms, but whenever they got close my broom would go higher. I ended up hanging on by only one hand before my broom stopped acting like a wild horse and let me scramble back on it again."

"In the stands, Hagrid noticed that Harry's broom was acting weird. He said it could only be powerful dark magic, so Hermione started searching the teacher's stand. Snape was staring at Harry, not blinking at all and muttering. Our theory, note I said theory so don't go and kill Snape just yet, was that he was jinxing Harry's broom," Ron said.

"I wasn't about to watch Harry die, so I left the stand and hurried over to the teachers stand. As I rushed towards Professor Snape, I knocked Quirrell over. But I didn't pay attention to that, I was so focused on saving Harry. Once I was close enough to Professor Snape, I used my bluebell flames to light his cloak on fire. The commotion of having his cloak on fire made him look away from the game and I scooped the fire up into a jar and left," Hermione finished.

"You set Severus on fire?" Remus asked, looking like he was trying not to laugh. The twins didn't seem to have the same problem, and were laughing loudly, along with Ginny.

"Snivellus was trying to kill Harry," Sirius growled, seemingly ignoring the fact that Hermione had set him on fire.

"Note that Ron said our theory. Everything is explained in a later story about how I nearly died during my first year at Hogwarts," Harry explained. He didn't particularly like Snape, but he really didn't want Sirius to kill him because Sirius thought Snape was trying to kill him. Especially when Snape had actually been trying to save him.

It took a little while for Sirius to calm down from the thought that Snape had been trying to kill Harry, and a little while after that for the twins and Ginny to get over the fact that Hermione goody-two-shoes teachers-pet Granger had set Snape on fire. Eventually, though, Sirius regained control of his breathing and his anger, while Ginny, George, and Fred had stopped gasping from laughter.

"What incident was next?" Sirius asked wearily. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks.

"The next time I nearly died was the forest. We had detention in there. By we, I mean Hermione, Neville, Malfoy, and I," he began, before Mrs. Weasley cut him off.

"Where was Ron?"

"He was in the common room waiting for us to finish our detention. He didn't get detention because he had been in the hospital wing at the time that we had gotten the detention," Hermione explained hastily, wanting Harry to get back on with his story so they could escape, and deliberately leaving out why they got detention, since no one actually needed to know about the dragon other than those who were involved.


	3. The Forest and the Trap Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those who don't know find out what happened during their detention in the Forbidden Forest, and what happened when they went down through the trap door.

"So, we were in the forest. According to Hagrid, there was something in the forest hurting unicorns and we were going to help him find the injured unicorn and possibly stop what was hurting them." This time, Harry had to stop due to Remus and Sirius basically exploding, in both anger and worry.

"They made four first-years go into a forbidden forest for detention-"

"-incredibly dangerous. Barely anything can catch a unicorn, let alone injure it and they expected first-years-"

"-not to mention the fact that the forest is full of dangerous creatures and isn't a place for any student, let alone first-years-"

"-anything could have been in there hurting unicorns and yet they seem content to endanger first-years-"

"-a reason the forest is forbidden in the first place-" They continued to go on and on, both of them having jumped to their feet, pacing as they ranted. Hermione, Ron, and Harry exchanged glanced.

"Should we tell them when we had the detention?" Hermione asked quietly. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite quiet enough that Remus, with his werewolf hearing, couldn't hear. Before either boy could answer, Remus stopped pacing and fixed Hermione with a stern glare.

"And when exactly did you have this detention?" he asked.

"Um, a week before exams," Hermione offered. Remus raised an eyebrow, clearly understanding that that wasn't the full information. She wouldn't have been asking the boys otherwise.

"On a Thursday night," Harry added hesitantly.

"They sent you into the forbidden forest as a detention, a week before exams, during the evening, on a school night," Remus checked. Harry murmured something under his breath and Remus stared at Harry.

"Pardon Harry?" Remus asked, his tone making it perfectly clear that he had heard and wanted the others to hear. Harry sighed, before relenting. He wasn't sure how he was going to get through all the stories of his near-death adventures if they kept interrupting like this. But at least it showed that they cared.

"It wasn't during the evening. When I said Thursday night, I really meant Thursday night. We had to meet Filch in the entrance hall at 10pm, and we didn't get back to the common room until after midnight." And there went both Remus and Sirius with their pacing and ranting about safety measures and responsible adults. While they ranted, Mrs. Weasley seemed to have picked up on the fact that they hadn't told them what they had gotten the detention for.

"And why exactly did you have detention in the first place? And yes, I do believe that it is relevant to the story, considering that it tells us why you were in a position to nearly die for a fourth time during the school year."

"We were caught in the corridors after curfew," Hermione said. It wasn't a lie, and really, they didn't need to know about the dragon. Fred and George stared at them.

"You were caught out after curfew?" Fred asked. They both nodded and George groaned.

"You're kidding," he said. They shook their heads.

"The amount of points you lost made it seem like you did something terrible."

"Breaking curfew is 20 points in total, 30 in total max."

"How many points did you lose?" Remus asked, having seemingly calmed down from his ranting.

"50 points. Each," Hermione said with a wince.

"Each?"

"Yeah. 50 for Hermione, 50 for me, and 50 for Neville. And Malfoy only lost 20. And it was McGonagall who took the points," Harry said grumpily. He was still very annoyed about Malfoy losing less than half of what each of them did. 

"That's outrageous," Sirius exclaimed.

"Can we get back to the story? We haven't actually even reached my fourth near-death encounter." The adults all pulled themselves together before they nodded, allowing Harry to continue with his story.

"Thank you. Anyways, we split up so we could search faster. Hermione and I were with Hagrid while Neville and Malfoy were with Fang. Malfoy scared Neville and Neville panicked, so we switched groups and I went off with Malfoy and Fang while Hermione and Neville stayed with Hagrid. Malfoy and I found the unicorn. It was dead when we found it, lying on its side, blood covering the ground all around it. But there was also a figure, completely covered in a black cloak, above the unicorn, drinking its blood. Malfoy screamed and fled, but I was frozen, in both terror and pain.

"Malfoy's scream had gotten the figure's attention, and my scar was burning incredibly painfully. The figure started to advance on me, but a centaur rescued me, taking me out of the forest after scaring off the figure. After that, we headed back to the castle."

"Harry, didn't you say that your scar hurts whenever Voldemort is around?" Sirius asked slowly. Harry cursed in his head. He was hoping that Sirius had forgotten that detail from when Harry had told him about his scar the previous year.

"I did. It does," he replied evenly.

"And you scar was burning while you were face to face with this mysterious figure," Remus said, clearly catching onto Sirius train of thought.

"Yes," he replied. He had not wanted them to work it out or come to that conclusion.

"Tell me honestly kiddo. Was that Voldemort?"

"Yes." That clearly wasn't the reply that Sirius had been hoping for, judging by how quickly the colour drained from his face. Remus' head had dropped into his hands, clearly having expected that answer and having wished it wouldn't be.

"And what was Voldemort doing in that particular forest? There are unicorns in various places around the world and he just happens to have chosen the forest at Hogwarts, where Dumbledore resides," Remus commented, head still resting in his hands, muffling his voice slightly.

"Uh, he was there for what was hidden on the third-floor?" Ron offered.

"And what was on the third-floor?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She had clearly been told about what happened, or at least that the three of them had been injured badly, but not why or how it had happened.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione offered in the same tone.

"And why was the Philosopher's Stone in the school?" Sirius asked, his voice adopting the same painfully polite tone that Remus had used earlier.

"Um, Dumbledore put it there?" Harry offered this time.

"Give me one minute," Sirius said, standing and walking stiffly out of the room. They waited in silence, before loud crashes came from the kitchen. It wasn't long later that Sirius returned to the room, looking more relaxed than before.

"Should I ask?" Remus asked, an eyebrow raised.

"There are some fine china plates that my mother was especially fond of. I find throwing them against walls to be a good stress reliever," Sirius explained simply. No one commented.

"Shall we continue then?" Ginny asked and Harry sighed. He really didn't look forward to the reactions about the next story, but knew that he had to keep going. At least the story about the trapdoor would give him a good idea of how they would react when they learnt about the Basilisk. Or the very large snake, as he was still determined to refer to it as.

"I guess. After meeting Voldemort in the forest, we worked out that he wanted the Philosopher's Stone that Fluffy was guarding, and that he was having one of his servants get it for him. My scar was playing up all week, which made end-of-year exams fun. Anyway, after our last exam I realized something." He paused.

"Crap," he murmured under his breath. He couldn't really explain the next part, and his realization, without explaining the dragon. And they had done so well avoiding that when talking about the forest. He looked towards Ron, who had an eyebrow raised, obviously questioning why he stopped.

"Shit," Ron muttered under his breath, clearly coming to the conclusion Harry already had. He then turned to Hermione, who seemed to be thinking intently, before clearly working it out and swearing under her breath as well.

"Damn." Harry smiled brightly in response to the other's questioning expressions. He thought for a minute, before continuing.

"Anyway, I realized something and worked out that Hagrid probably told the person working for Voldemort how to get past Fluffy, as that would be the only thing they still hadn't worked out, since we knew that it was one of the teachers who was after the stone." He made sure to keep out names, since he didn't want to give Sirius any more reasons to go and hurt Snape before he finished the stories about first year.

"What did you leave out Harry?" Remus asked, his eyes having narrowed as each of them reached the same conclusion before swearing under their breath. He could see, quite clearly, that they were leaving something out, and that the other adults hadn't picked up on their distress over whatever they were leaving out.

"Nothing important," Harry replied brightly, desperately hoping that they wouldn't push. He was not in luck, because Remus simply continued to stare at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Hagrid managed to get a new pet and Harry realized that the circumstances surrounding how Hagrid acquired said pet were suspicious," Hermione said quickly. Harry nodded.   
"Yeah. Continuing on, Hagrid told us what he had told the person who gave him the pet, which was how to get past Fluffy, so we ran back to the castle to tell Dumbledore that someone was going to steal the stone because they knew how to get past all the obstacles; we didn't know what they were, just that someone who was trying to get past them did," Ron said, quickly continuing after Hermione's explanation, so that the adults wouldn't have time to question her explanation too much.

"We ran into McGonagall and when we told, she said that we couldn't speak to Dumbledore, as he had left, so we tried to tell her what we thought. But she brushed us off, saying the stone was completely safe before we could even tell her how Hagrid had told someone how to get past Fluffy. She told us to forget about it and to go outside. We tried other ways to protect the stone, but everyone tried to make us forget about it, which we couldn't since we were sure someone was going to try to steal it that night," Harry said, quickly continuing the story.

"That night we snuck out under Harry's cloak. When we got to Fluffy's room, Fluffy was already asleep while a harp played in the corner. We managed to get down the trapdoor, having decided that, if the teachers weren't going to do something about it, then we would. We got through the next obstacle, Professor Sprout's, easily, after I remembered that I was a witch and didn't need wood for a fire," Hermione continued.

"The next obstacle was Flitwick's and Harry got us past that easily. Then we got to McGonagall's which was a giant chess set that we had to play our way past, taking the places of the chess pieces. And it was wizards chess. I managed to direct Harry and Hermione through it, but the only way to win was for me to get taken, so that Harry could checkmate the white king. So, I made my move and was knocked out," Ron said. The story had to pause for a moment, while Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and began fussing over Ron, muttering things about how brave and noble he was, as well as about how foolish he was. That reaction didn't give them much hope for the other stories where they had all been in more danger. Eventually, Hermione was able to continue the story.

"Quirrell's was next, and we didn't have to worry about that one as it had been taken care of by the person ahead of us. Professor Snape's was the last one and it was a riddle that allowed you to work out which bottle contained poison, nettle wine, or a potion that would take you either forward or backwards, since both doors were covered in enchanted fire. I worked out which was which pretty quickly and Harry told me to go back and get Ron to the hospital wing and then to contact Dumbledore, while he went ahead."

"When I stepped through to the last room, I found Quirrell already there, muttering to himself. He kept going on about being able to find the stone and give it to his master. He noticed me, explained how it was him even though Snape seemed the type. Quirrell told me how he tried to kill me during the Quidditch game and would have if Snape hadn't been muttering the counter-curse and then I had a talk with Voldemort. I refused to join Voldemort and I somehow got the stone without even trying. Quirrell tried to choke me when Voldemort told him to kill me and I managed to fight him off, almost dying in the process, before waking up 3 days later in the hospital wing," Harry finished.

He didn't particularly want to explain how Voldemort had been on the back of Quirrell's head, as that was one of the details that he still had nightmares about, as was the other thing he left out, which was that he basically killed Quirrell at 11. There was no reason they needed to know all the details, especially disturbing ones like that.

"How was Voldemort in the school?" Remus asked, fear lacing his tone. Harry shrugged and both Remus and Sirius pinned him with expectant looks. He sighed, resigned to the fact that he would have to tell them.

"He was possessing Quirrell," he told them reluctantly.

"And..." Sirius pressed. Harry sighed again. He seriously didn't want to have to tell them, but he knew that they would keep pushing.

"He was possessing Quirrell and his face was on the back of Quirrell's head, which was why Quirrell wore a turban." He looked around at the people listening to the story to see most of them looking vaguely sick at the thought. All except Fred and George, who were grinning and shared high-five.

"What are you so happy about?" Ron asked, having noticed their enthusiasm as well.

"Remember Christmas," George began.

"And how we enchanted some snowballs," Fred continued.

"To continually bounce off the back of Quirrell's head?" they finished together, their grins widening as the others slowly realized what they had done.

"You were hitting You-Know-Who in the face with snowballs. Wicked," Ginny whispered. 


	4. A Tree, Quidditch Again, and Spiders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry explains how he was almost killed by a tree when he and Ron crashed into the Whomping Willow, before explaining about the first Quidditch match of that year. He and Ron then tell them about their meeting with Aragog.

"That was all for your first year?" Mrs. Weasley asked, once everyone had calmed down from the fact that a) the twins had thrown snowballs at Voldemort and b) Voldemort had been in the school all year on the back of Quirrell's head and had almost caused Harry to die. The three nodded.

"What about second year?" Sirius asked.

"Well, first was the tree in second year. Through circumstances that I had no control over, the barrier leading onto the platform closed before 11 o'clock and Ron and I ended up running into that wall. We couldn't work out how to get through, and trust me, we tried. So, we were stuck. We weren't sure if Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be able to get back through and we had no idea how we were going to get to school."

"Harry had already let Hedwig out of her cage so she could fly to Hogwarts, rather than be stuck in a cage the entire train ride," Ron continued. Harry was extremely glad for how good Ron was at twisting the story slightly so that they got in less trouble for not trying other alternates first. "So, I suggested the only thing we could think of. Dad's flying car."

"We managed to fly the car to school and arrive just after the train. The only problem was that the car's engine decided to die on us as we entered the school grounds, right above the lake. We managed to not land in the lake and instead crashed into a tree," Harry explained.

"And how did this tree almost kill you?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She had known about flying the car to school, obviously, since she had sent a howler, but clearly didn't know what went on with the car.

"Well, you see. This one tree doesn't particularly like to be hit. Enjoys hitting you back, see," Ron explained.

"Out of all the trees in Hogwarts, you just managed to hit the Whomping Willow," Remus deadpanned.

"Yep, great right?" Harry asked, voice laced with sarcasm.

"Well, the tree wasn't very keen on us hitting it and the branches were pummeling us. The only reason we escaped was because the car's engine got another burst of power and managed to accelerate out of the tree and onto the ground before throwing us out and speeding off into the forest," Ron finished.

"Next was Quidditch again," Harry continued, wanting to finish the tree story there. "The game was going pretty well, until it became obvious that one of the bludgers had it out for me. It just kept targeting me, like I was the only player on the field."

"No matter how hard we hit it away, it kept veering back at Harry," Fred agreed.

"We tried to get Oliver to call off the game, but we couldn't ask for an investigation without forfeiting, and Harry decided that he could deal with it," George added. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I did deal with it. I managed to avoid it while you guys protected the rest of the team from the other bludger. And I managed to catch the snitch. I mean, the bludger may have broken my arm after missing my head multiple times, but I was fine."

"And what happened when you landed?" Hermione asked. He scowled at her before continuing.

"I managed to roll out of the way of the bludger hitting me right on the throat before Fred and George tackled it and got it back into the box. And then an idiot decided he could heal me better than Madame Pomphrey and removed all my bones."

"I still don't know how you liked him," Ron muttered, causing Hermione to blush.

"Who removed the bones from your arm?" Sirius asked, looking like he was ready to go and hurt whoever it was.

"An idiotic Professor who only got his post because he was the only one who applied. At least, I hope that's why he was hired," he replied with a shrug, adding the last part under his breath.

"And who was this?" Remus ground out. The six who had been students that year all shared a look.

"Lockhart," they all sighed.

"Gilderoy Lockhart? I'm sure he wasn't as bad as you're making him out to be. I always wondered what happened to him; he just disappeared," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Trust us mum," Fred said.

"He was that bad," George finished.

"He spent all his classes having us re-enact scenes from his books," Ron said.

"And the books weren't even that good," Ginny exclaimed. Mrs. Weasley sighed, and looked like she wanted to argue, but Mr. Weasley put a hand on her knee, calming her slightly.

"So that was a tree and quidditch from second year. What was next?" Sirius asked, getting them all back on track. Hermione shrugged.

"I have no clue. I was, indisposed, by this point, I'm pretty sure. I am curious about what happened though. They didn't tell me about anything life threatening while I was indisposed." Harry and Ron exchanged looks and then groaned. They hadn't told Hermione all the details about what had happened while she had been petrified for a reason. At least she hadn't said petrified; they were pretty sure the adults didn't know many details about what happened during their second year, except for the fact that Ginny had been kidnapped to be killed.

"What did you say it was next? A very large snake?" Remus asked, clearly trying to remember the list that they had told them.

"No, it was spiders next," Harry sighed while Ron shivered at the memory.

"Spiders aren't deadly. How could they almost kill you?" Ginny asked.

"Well Gin-Gin." Ginny rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Trees aren't deadly either."

"But they almost got killed by one all the same." Mr. Weasley then shot a look at Ron.

"Aren't you terrified of spiders Ron?" Ron nodded.

"How did you almost get killed by spiders?" Sirius asked wearily, clearly already getting tired of how many different ways Harry, and by extension Ron and Hermione, had almost died.

"Now, you have to understand. We didn't know that it was going to happen and would not have gone if we had of," Harry said, hoping to at least placate them a bit before telling them about how they walked into an Acromantula nest and almost got eaten.

"That does not make me feel better at all," Sirius sighed, while Remus fixed them with a stare, clearly telling them to just start speaking. The Weasleys simply continued to watch them. Harry and Ron shared a look and both sighed.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked. Ron turned to face Hermione and smiled brightly; an action that Harry copied.

"Well, we almost got eaten by extremely large spiders that Hagrid sent us to talk to," Harry said, his voice seemingly as bright as his smile.

"And dad's car rescued us as it went sentient and is running wild in the forest," Ron added, his tone matching Harry's.

"Did you say that the car became sentient?" Mr. Weasley asked eagerly.

"Not the time Arthur," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded before turning towards the two boys. "Why did Hagrid send you somewhere where large spiders almost ate you?"

"Well, see. Hagrid got expelled because of something that happened while he was at school, that he was wrongly blamed for. The same thing was happening during our year and we went to talk to Hagrid, to ask if he knew anything about it," Ron began.

"While we were there though, Fudge came to arrest Hagrid, saying that he had to be seen doing something to stop everything happening, and Hagrid was the prime suspect. We were hiding under my invisibility cloak at the time, and Hagrid said that if anyone wanted answers to follow the spiders. So, we did," Harry continued.

"Big mistake, I'll tell you," Ron murmured, before continuing in a louder voice, "the spiders led into the forest. So, one night we followed them. They went very deep into the forest and went off the path. When we got there, Harry asked a lot of questions and the elder spider answered, before saying that his children could eat us, because he couldn't deny them fresh meat when it wandered into their nest."

"How did the spider answer your questions?" Sirius asked slowly.

"Well, you see, there is a breed of spiders that have the ability to talk if they have human contact and live long enough," Harry said, knowing that one of them was, unfortunately, going to work out they were talking about Acromantula soon enough.

"I've only heard of one breed of spiders that are speculated to have that ability..." Remus trailed off and glared at them. Hermione's gaze matched Remus' in intensity; she had clearly come to the same conclusion that Remus had.

"Please tell me that you didn't walk into an Acromantula nest," he said in a would-be calm voice.

"Well, I'd love to," Harry said brightly. "But then I'd be lying," he continued in a much quieter voice, although he knew everyone could still hear him, looking down at his hand in his lap, which had become very interesting under Remus' intense stare.

"Harry, kiddo, I love you. I really do. But why the hell would you walk into an Acromantula nest?" Sirius exclaimed.

"I didn't know they were Acromantula?" he tried, his tone suggesting that his answer was more of a question than a statement.

"Would you still have gone in if you knew they were Acromantula?" Remus asked. Harry smiled sheepishly.

"I mean, probably. It was the only way we were able to get answers, which is how we managed to do what we did at the end of the year."

"Hermione, where were you? You seem to be the common sense of the trio," Mrs. Weasley said, glancing at Hermione before turning her gaze back to the boys who were shifting uneasily under the intense stares of their guardians.

"As I said, I was indisposed. But I wouldn't say that I'm their common sense. Honestly, I've had my own share of crazy idea, and I've tagged along for most of theirs," Hermione answered.  
"Polyjuice," Ron coughed, the word hidden amongst the coughs, making it only able to be deciphered by the two sitting closest to him. Harry elbowed him while Hermione sighed and ignored him. Remus and Sirius each raised an eyebrow at the interaction but didn't question it.

"What did this trip into an Acromantula nest tell you?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"That it wasn't Hagrid's fault, he was framed," Ron replied.

"And that the person who was involved in a negative way, became involved in a bathroom," Harry added slowly, trying to work out how to word it without saying that someone had died. None of the adults knew about the Chamber being opened, not even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. The only thing those who hadn't been at the school knew, was that something happened at Hogwarts, and the only other thing that the Weasleys had been told was that something had happened that resulted in Ginny being kidnapped and most likely killed; they had taken Ginny to the hospital wing before Harry told his story.

"And the trip made Harry realize that there was someone else we could ask," Ron added.

"Because what if the girl had never left?" Harry hoped that what he said wouldn't give them any clues about the fact that someone died, and that they would assume that it was one of the teachers. He knew that McGonagall had been at the school around 50 years ago, so it wasn't a stretch to think that some of the other teachers had been students at that time too.

"Moaning Myrtle?" Hermione breathed. Ron and Harry nodded.

"Just double checking. The trip into an Acromantula nest, where you almost got eaten, was worth it?" Remus asked.

"Yep."

"Definitely." The adults sighed.


	5. A Very Large Snake and Malfoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys find out what happened in the Chamber, and how Malfoy Senior reacted after he tricked him into freeing Dobby.

"It was a very large snake next then?" Sirius asked.

"Uh huh."

"What type of snake?" Remus asked.

"A very large one," Harry said decisively with a nod.

"Sure," Sirius replied, stretching the word out to show his disbelief.

"I'm not lying. It was very large. I mean, it bit me, which is how I almost died, as its venom is very potent. I can show you the scar." Remus raised an eyebrow. Harry rolled up the sleeve of his right arm to half way up his upper arm, allowing the circular scar just above his elbow to be seen. Sirius moved closer, to get a better look at the size of the scar. He whimpered slightly when he got a good look at the size. The diameter of it was almost as wide as the width of Harry's upper arm.

"Yes, definitely a very large snake," he said softly, his tone portraying his distress. Remus moved closer, to get a better look at what had Sirius distressed. He gulped when he saw the size of the scar.

"Yeah, definitely very large," Remus agreed.

"What were you doing that made you come into contact with a snake with fangs that large? Especially a venomous snake?" Sirius asked, his breathing levelling out from when he had started to hyperventilate upon seeing the scar.

"Stopping the school from getting shut down. Saving Ginny's life..." he trailed off glancing over to Ginny who had curled up into herself slightly at the reminder of the events from her first year.

"Wait, there was a snake where you were when you were kidnapped Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Yeah. I didn't see it, not until after Harry killed it. I passed out before … Tom … called it," Ginny replied hesitantly, pausing on Tom's name, clearly debating what to call him before settling on the name he had used while she had been writing to him.

"Kidnapped? Tom?" Remus asked, having not heard the story about how Ginny was kidnapped to be killed while at school.

"Tom kidnapped me because I was … fighting back. Because I was … trying to tell someone."

"Maybe you could start from the start? I know you probably told Dumbledore what happened after we left to take Ginny to the hospital wing, why don't you tell us what you told him?" Mr. Weasley suggested. Ron and Harry exchanged looks again, before Harry nodded.

"Do you want to help me?" he asked Ron. Ron shrugged.

"I'll take the start and the end if you want. I don't know the middle part," Ron offered.

"Sure." They exchanged another glance, agreeing without words to not include the unnecessary details, such as the fact that it was Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, a Basilisk, petrification, a diary that caused possession, and the fact that it was the Dark Lord's younger self. Oh, and probably the fact that Lockhart had tried to erase their memories and leave them down there to die.

"So, we had just worked out what the thing that was terrorizing the school was, with Hermione's help, and had already worked out where it was. We were heading to the staffroom to tell that teachers what we had discovered, when an announcement told everyone to return to their common rooms. However, we didn't because we were determined to tell the teachers what we knew, thinking it would help them.

"We overheard McGonagall tell the other teachers that a student had been kidnapped and a message left, saying that she was going to die, and then heard that it was Ginny. The teachers sent Lockhart to save her, so we went to Lockhart's office to tell him what we knew. We ended up going with him to where she had been taken. We got down there, and Lockhart tried a spell, which didn't work as it was meant to, and ended up causing the roof to collapse and separate us. I was on one side with Lockhart near the entrance, while Harry was on the other, with the path leading to where Ginny was."

"I continued on and found Ginny lying unconscious on the floor. I ran to her, trying to get her to wake up. That's when Tom appeared. He told me that she wouldn't wake, I think she got a head injury that was keeping her unconscious, or maybe he had spelled her asleep until he got around to killing her; I'm not entirely sure, but I think it was a spell or something, looking back. Anyway, I talked to him, tried to get him to help me wake her up; I hadn't realized that he was the one responsible yet since I'd met him earlier in the year and he seemed fine, really nice actually.

"I told him we had to help Ginny and get out before the very large snake appeared to hurt us like it had been terrorizing the school. He told me that it wouldn't come until called. We talked a bit more. At some point he managed to get my wand; I can't remember how. Anyway, he eventually decided that he had had enough talking and that it was time for me to die. And then he called the snake, telling it to kill me.

"Fawkes appeared and clawed out the snake's eyes so that it couldn't see me, but Tom kept yelling at the snake to smell me out, rather than trying to attack Fawkes who was still flying around its head. Fawkes had brought the sorting hat and I somehow pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat after being cornered by the snake. I lunged with the sword when the snake lunged at me, driving the sword straight through the roof of its mouth, killing it. However, its fang pierced my arm, as you can see, and the venom started spreading through my body.

"Tom sat next to me, happy to watch the venom slowly kill me. Fawkes had other plans though, and decided to cry on the wound, negating the venom and healing me, saving me. Tom didn't like that, but before he could try to kill me in any other way, I managed to incapacitate him. With Tom incapacitated, Ginny woke up and we managed to get back to where I had been separated from the others," Harry explained, carefully keeping his story as safe as possible, while still getting all the important information in.

"I had managed to create a hole in the collapse, meaning Harry and Ginny could come back through once they got back. Lockhart had been hurt when the roof collapsed, so he was no help. Fawkes got us back to the school and we headed to McGonagall's office, where we told Dumbledore and McGonagall what had happened after Ginny went to the hospital wing. Lockhart's injury landed him in St Mungo's. I don't know if he recovered though, it was pretty serious," Ron finished. Remus, Sirius, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George all stared at them in various states of shock, while Ginny had curled up into herself even more. Hermione had moved during the story, offering comfort to the other girl.

"Uh, can you explain some bits?" George asked.

"Like who Tom was?"

"Where he came from?"

"There aren't any Tom's in the year levels around us," Fred said, finishing their twin speech.

"He, uh, wasn't from the school … I don't think. No, wait, he was. He had already graduated and was back to terrorize the school, which he couldn't do while he was at school because he couldn't risk getting expelled."

"How did he call the snake? And tell it what to do?" Remus asked slowly.

"He was a Parselmouth, so he could talk to the snake," Harry replied.

"...and how do you know what he was telling the snake?" Sirius asked after a moment of thought.

"Um, cause I'm a Parselmouth too." Remus and Sirius both blinked in shock, before nodding their acceptance; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already knew because Harry had gotten a snake out of the garden at the Burrow that was trying to make its home amongst the vegetable patches a few days after the Quidditch World Cup.

"Ok. That's fine," Sirius said.

"The Potter family did originate in India, where Parseltongue is a sacred ability, so it wouldn't surprise me if there were Parselmouths somewhere in your ancestry," Remus added. Harry smiled, glad that Sirius and Remus had taken the news well, plus the fact that he possibly got the ability from somewhere other than Voldemort.

"Harry, did you say that Malfoy was the next reason you almost died?" Hermione asked slowly, clearly running through the list he had made and remembering he hadn't mentioned anything about Malfoy.

"Yeah," he sighed, running his hand through his hair. He had conveniently not told Ron or Hermione about his encounter with Malfoy Senior before he got to the hospital wing.

"Which Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Senior."

"What did that bastard do to you?" Sirius growled, sounding uncannily like his Animagus form.

"Well, I, uh, may have tricked him into freeing his house elf and he got mad at me. And he may have tried to … um … Avada Kedavra me."

"He what?" the adults in the room exclaimed.

"At the time, I didn't know what he was trying to do. He got to ked- before the house elf that I tricked him into freeing stopped him to protect me; the house elf, Dobby, is slightly protective of me and was the reason behind the bludger during the first Quidditch game because he was trying to make me leave Hogwarts to keep me safe from Tom. I'm almost positive that Malfoy Senior was behind Tom being able to access the school, even though I don't have definite proof." Everyone stared at him for a while in shocked silence before Hermione spoke up.

"Dobby is the only reason he didn't kill you?" she asked shakily.

"Yeah. And then I made him promise to never try to save my life again, as he had almost killed me a couple of times before actually saving my life."

"I am going to give that elf so many different socks," Hermione decided. Ron nodded enthusiastically in agreement, while the others looked at them in confusion.

"Why would he want socks?" Ginny asked slowly.

"He loves being a free elf and very much enjoys wearing clothes. Socks are his favorite, probably because it was a sock that freed him," Harry explained. Fred and George looked at each other before turning back to face the trio sitting on the couch.

"Weird," they decided. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shrugged in unison. From what they had seen of house elves the year previously, Dobby was definitely unique, but he was happy, so they didn't say do anything to change that.

"Please tell me that was the last time you almost died in your second year," Sirius said.

"Please tell me that was the last time you almost died that I don't know about," Remus added.

"That was the last time in second year," Harry agreed, deliberately dodging Remus' question, as he didn't know about their turn back. Nor did Sirius, now that he thought about it. Only Hermione and him, and Ron, knew how they had rescued Sirius that night. Oh, and Dumbledore, but he didn't see Dumbledore telling them that if he hadn't told them about his first two years. Oh, and Remus had been sick from the full moon during the Quidditch game. So, he knew exactly nothing about Harry almost dying, only that the dementors had been there and affected him, badly, which had caused him to fall off his broom.

"You didn't answer my question," Remus said.

"Didn't I? My bad. Anyway, third year," Harry said, pressing on.


	6. Quidditch Yet Again, Remus, Dementors, and the Turn Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio explain Harry's multiple near-death experiences in his third year, explaining about the first Quidditch game of the season, how they were almost attacked by a werewolf, how they were nearly kissed by dementors, and how they almost killed themselves by messing with time.

"Third years first near death experience was Quidditch again. And I swear, this was the last time I nearly died during a Quidditch game," Harry said.

"This was the game against Hufflepuff?" George asked. Harry nodded. Fred and George both shivered in remembrance. That had been a rough game and an even rougher post-game.

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, you know, fell off my broom from 50 feet," Harry said in a would be happy and calm voice.

"Excuse me, you what?" Remus asked.

"You know how I asked you to teach me to fight dementors?"

"Yes. You said the dementors affected you during the quidditch match," Remus replied slowly.

"Yeah, well I may have, uh, neglected a few details. Such as the fact that I was on my broom up high in the air when the dementors affected me..." he trailed off sheepishly, running his hand through his hair.

"Can someone please tell the whole story for those who weren't present?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Well, the first game of the season was against Hufflepuff and the weather was horrible," Harry began, only for Fred to take over.

"It was the worst storm of the year, we could barely see a few feet in front of us, but the game continued on."

"We could barely tell our team from theirs and were just trying to keep the bludgers at bay," George added.

"No one had any idea what the score was, and it was getting wetter and colder the longer we played."

"Finally, someone called time out; not sure if it was Oliver or Diggory."

"Hermione came down during the time out and spelled my glasses so that they repelled water. Oliver looked like he could kiss her, and the rest of the team did the same thing to their faces, meaning we could see a bit further in front of us. Oliver told me to end the game as quickly as possible; it was getting more dangerous the longer we played and we needed to end it sooner rather than later," Harry continued, picking the story back up from the twins.

"I spotted the snitch a while after play restarted. I was chasing it and getting higher and higher. The air around me was getting colder and colder, but I didn't notice. I just assumed that it was from the storm and my clothes being so wet while I was so high. And then suddenly, there was dementors above me and all around me. I couldn't go up or to any side and they were closing in and the screaming in my head started and I blacked out."

"We could barely see the game through the wind and rain, and no one noticed the dementors until they were right on top of the pitch. It got cold and so, so sad. Then we saw a shape falling straight down. Falling so fast and getting closer and closer to the ground. Then we realized it was Harry," Ron continued.

"Everyone was screaming as Harry fell and Professor Dumbledore only just managed to slow his fall to prevent him from dying and he still hit the ground at force, but not deadly. The Gryffindor team was with Harry in a moment and he was taken straight to the hospital wing," Hermione added.

"He was so still, we all thought he was dead. But Madame Pomphrey was able to heal him. He woke up the next day completely healed," Fred said.

"His broomstick, not so much," George added.

"Neglected a few details?" Remus asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe?" Harry offered. Remus nodded, taking a deep breath. He seemed to have completely bypassed shock and gone into acceptance, no longer being shocked or distressed by each near death experience.

"Why do you not seem shocked Pads?" he asked instead.

"I saw it," Sirius said. "I was sitting in the back of the stands as Padfoot. I wanted to see how well Harry could fly. I chose the wrong game to watch."

"I was right. The dog I saw in the stands was you. I thought it was, after meeting you in the shack, but I wasn't completely sure that I had actually seen you and it wasn't a figment of my imagination," Harry said.

"Yeah, I saw the game. Which was why I decided to get you a broom for Christmas; I knew your old one was wrecked." Harry smiled.

"What was next?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a resigned tone. She had clearly become intent to hear every story and was no longer concerned by every situation, or at least not while the story was being told. Harry was sure that she would fuss over them as much as humanly possible after all the stories were finished. Harry shot a sheepish glance towards Remus before turning his attention to Mrs. Weasley.

"Remus," he answered.

"What?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Well, due to circumstances once again outside our control, we ended up outside, with Remus, during a full moon. He had forgotten to take his potion, and we didn't realize the danger, since we hadn't kept track of the moon phases, as we didn't know until that night. So we may or may not have been right next to a werewolf as he transformed," Harry began.

"What circumstances?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. Ron shifted uneasily. Well, he clearly hadn't told his mum what had happened, anything about Scabbers' disappearance, or anything about how he knew Sirius was innocent. That just made thigs even better, didn't it.

"Well, Siri over here decided that he needed to basically kidnap Ron, because, reasons. That led us to follow him to the Shrieking Shack, through the passageway under the Whomping Willow, and Remus appeared soon after, having seen Siri dragging Ron plus one down the passage, and decided to investigate," Harry said.

"While there, we discovered many things, including that Sirius was innocent, he, Pettigrew, and my dad were Animagi, with Pettigrew being a rat, Remus was a werewolf, and Pettigrew was still alive. Many things happened in there and then we started to head back to the castle to hand Pettigrew over to the dementors so that Sirius could be freed. Unfortunate, the moon decided that that was a good time to appear, Pettigrew transformed and escaped while Remus became a werewolf," Hermione continued.

"The only reason that we weren't attacked was because Sirius transformed as well. Padfoot and Moony fought, until something in the forest distracted Moony and he ran off, and Padfoot followed. And that was pretty much all that happened with the Remus almost killed us near death experience," Ron finished.

"What were you saying about Pettigrew?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I said he was a rat. And about that. Yeah, Scabbers wasn't eaten," Ron admitted, causing the other Weasleys to pale slightly as the realized that a murderer had lived in their house for more than ten years.

"Should I even ask you to remind us what was next on the list?" Ginny asked.

"Well, the next two occurred on the same night as the experience with Remus did, and all follow one after another," Harry explained.

"Just tell us."

"Well, next was dementors. So, after Moony ran off, I heard Padfoot whimpering and ran after him, wanting to help. I could tell that Moony had headed in a different direction, so I knew I wouldn't be running at a werewolf. Hermione ran after me. I found Siri collapsed at the edge of the lake, back in human form. He was clutching his head, half whimpering and half sobbing."

"The dementors were swarming him, and us since we were next to him. Every single dementor on the grounds were swarming us. Harry kept telling me to summon a Patronus. That I just needed a happy memory and to say the incantation. But everything was so cold, so sad. I couldn't feel happy. The only things I could feel were negative emotions. Everything was too much, and I ended up passing out, thinking that it was the end," Hermione said.

"Hermione collapsed and the dementors were swooping lower and lower, getting closer and closer. I kept trying to summon a Patronus, but only mist would come. The dementors were so close and they were leaning down to Siri. They were leaning down over Hermione. They were leaning down over me. I couldn't get a Patronus to come and I thought it was going to be the end. There was screaming and pleading in my head, over and over. A flash of green light and high, cold laughter. Repeating over and over. I thought the last thing I would hear would be hearing my parents be murdered. The last thing I knew before I passed out was a bright light appearing, warmth appearing, and the dementors leaving," Harry finished. He shuddered at the memory. He had the memories of it happening and watching it happen. That situation was a very common feature in his nightmares.

How did you survive?" Ginny asked.

"This leads straight on to the next incident, the turn back, which explains that. We woke up about an hour, maybe an hour and a half later, in the hospital wing. Ron was in another bed, being treated for his broken leg that Sirius had caused when he grabbed Ron. Snape had brought us back up to the castle, and Sirius was in a tower, waiting to be given the kiss and no one would believe us when we said that Sirius was innocent. Except Dumbledore. He told us exactly where Sirius was and then told me we needed more time, that three turns should do it," Hermione said.

"Hermione whipped out a necklace and put it around my neck, before spinning the pendant, and suddenly we were running around three hours earlier. We snuck down to Hagrid's hut, which had been where we were before everything happened that night. We saved Buckbeak from being executed, which was good considering we needed to be able to get Sirius from a room high up in one of the towers," Harry continued.

"I had been given a time turner at the start of the year, so that I could take all the subjects that I wanted to. I knew the rules, so did my best to keep Harry from interfering. Especially since he wanted to burst into Hagrid's cabin to capture Wormtail before he could escape. I managed to dissuade him from that, since he would probably end up either killing his past or future self in his confusion at the situation," Hermione added.

"We had to wait for ages, and Hermione had to stop me from interfering multiple times. Eventually, we saw our past selves emerge from under the willow. Almost got attacked by a werewolf again because we had been right where Moony ran when he entered the forest. Then, I ran down to the lake. I wanted to see who had cast the Patronus that saved us. I had seen the outline of someone and was sure of who I'd seen. Even though it was impossible. Because my dad had been dead for 12 years. But I could have sworn I saw him."

"I waited and waited for the person who had cast the Patronus to appear. But when I saw the dementors about to kiss all three of us, I realized what I had seen. People do say that I look just like my dad," Harry said.

"You cast a Patronus that drove off over 100 dementors," Ginny said. Harry nodded with a sheepish smile.

"We knew you were powerful Harrikins," George said.

"But this takes the cake," Fred said.

"Well, that's when I found out that my Patronus takes after my dad. It's a stag; Prongs. I saved Sirius, and the past selves of me and Hermione. We waited for Snape to take us up to the castle before we headed back as well. We knew we had to save Sirius, but we also had to wait for everyone to leave the room to get the dementors so that no one would see us. It was a tight situation, but we managed it."

"It was quite a shock to see the two of them show up at the window outside the room I was locked in on the back of a hippogriff. Hermione got the window open and I was able to slip out. Harry flew us down to the ground where they both got off and told me to leave. I had no clue how they did it, but I am so glad that they did," Sirius said, adding his own thoughts to the story.

"We then had to rush back to the hospital wing so we would return as we left. We had to get from the courtyard to the hospital wing in about 5 minutes. We made it, but only just. Once inside Professor Dumbledore locked us in and Madame Pomphrey came out and started giving us chocolate and fussing over us."

"It was only 5 minutes later that Snape and Fudge burst into the hospital wing. Snape was yelling about how it was my fault and that I had something to do with it, even though he had no proof. It's always me, according to Snape. Dumbledore and Madame Pomphrey said that we had been in the hospital wing the whole time and Snape stormed out again, leaving us in peace. And that finishes my third year," Harry concluded.

"I did wonder about that. Dumbledore only told me that you and Hermione had managed to save Padfoot, and that you were the one who cast the Patronus. He didn't tell me how," Remus said.

"Yeah, and I had no clue how you had appeared outside my window, considering I was sure you should have still been unconscious," Sirius agreed.

"So, shall we continue?" Harry asked brightly, as if he wasn't talking about how he almost died. And honestly, he still didn't see the big deal about it. Yeah, he had almost died many times. That was just his life.

"We may as well. At least we basically know what happened during your fourth year," Remus said. Harry winced slightly. Yeah, they really didn't fully know what had happened in the lake or the maze. And only Sirius knew what had happened at the graveyard. Oh, and he hadn't told anyone what Barty Jr had done, Sirius only knew what Dumbledore had deducted.


	7. The Dragon, the Lake, the Maze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry explains about the tasks that he had to complete for the Triwizard Tournament and what exactly happened during them.

"So, dragons," Fred declared after they had all sat back down in the living room; Mrs. Weasley had insisted that they stopped the tales for lunch.

"Tell us the tale dear Harrikins," George said. Harry rolled his eyes at them before starting his story.

"So, Hermione had helped me perfect the summoning charm after I found out I would be facing dragons and I decided to use my broom to get around said dragon. On the day I was extremely nervous and was the last to pick a dragon, and the dragon I picked had me going fourth, meaning I got to listen to the others face their dragons first. And a side note, being able to hear the cometary and not see what is happening isn't very fun. Anyway, I entered the arena and almost immediately got blasted with fire, which I only just managed to dodge," he began, just to get cut off from Remus.

"Which breed of dragon did you get? I'm pretty sure the others all know but..." he trailed off.

"I got a Horntail. The others got a Swedish Shortsnout, a Welsh Green, and a Chinese Fireball."

"Of course, you get the most dangerous dragon," Remus muttered before waving his hand for Harry to continue.

"Well, I hid behind a rock and focused all my attention on summoning my Firebolt. It took a minute, but it did appear. I mounted it and zoomed into the air. I flew all around the Horntail, who wouldn't rise from her nest, instead happy to keep shooting blazing fire at me. I simply made it seem as if I was playing a game and her fire was simply bludgers that I had to dodge. I just got hit a couple of times in the arms, not dodging fast enough. They weren't very serious burns, the fire having barely touched me and burning me more from the heat than actually touching me, but they were painful.

"I eventually convinced the Horntail to get off her nest and into the air. As soon as she rose high enough, I dove, managing to grab my egg. I forgot about her tail though and got badly scratched as I flew away and the dragon handlers came in to subdue her. The attack from her tail almost knocked me off my broom as well, but I managed to keep a good grip with only one hand." He suddenly remembered something that Charlie had mentioned after the task, having been one of the handlers who was working with the Horntail.

"Oh, and I had a chat with Charlie. He said Norberta is flourishing."

"Norberta?" Hermione asked.

"Apparently Norbert was a girl. The females are much more vicious apparently."

"Huh. Nice to know though," Ron said.

"Yeah, Hagrid was happy when I told him," Harry agreed.

"Care to fill us in?" Ginny asked.

"Nope."

"Not really."

"It's not that important anyway." They all replied.

"You will be explaining later," Mr. Weasley decided and Harry sighed, deciding that Mr. Weasley probably had questions about why Charlie was telling them about a Norberta, since he worked with dragons, and why Hagrid would have cared, since Hagrid mainly cared about animals. And Charlie worked with dragons. He then shrugged to show that he would.

"Well, that was the first task over and I managed to survive, even if I really didn't think I would. The lake was next. And honestly, out of all the tasks, that was the one where I got closest to death. The aftermath of the maze doesn't count; it wasn't part of the task," he said, adding the last part in at the skeptical looks he was getting from everyone, including his friends on either side of him.

"So, I didn't have any way to breathe under water until about 10 minutes before the task, when Dobby brought me Gillyweed, and then told me the task was about to start, since I had fallen asleep in the library trying to find a way to survive the task. Once I actually got into the lake it didn't take me long to reach the hostages. I had an encounter with Hinkypunks, but thanks to Remus I dealt with them easily, unlike Fleur. I waited around the hostages for the others to arrive; I hadn't entered, I wasn't really set on winning, just making sure that everyone survived. The song had frightened me, since it said that what had been taken wouldn't come back if we didn't retrieve it. And based on past experiences, I wasn't going to trust that Dumbledore, the teachers, and the ministry wouldn't allow the hostages to be harmed.

"I eventually decided that Fleur wasn't coming so I freed Ron and then Fleur's sister. The mer-people started attacking me, saying I could only take one. I managed to get away, but they had already gotten me pretty scratched up. I managed to banish Ron and Fleur's sister to the surface, but my Gillyweed and run out and I stopped being able to breathe, while still a couple of feet below the surface. It was really difficult to not breathe any water. My clothes were really heavy, and my arms and legs were tired. I had been relying on the extras that the Gillyweed gave me, the fins and the gills, to be able to survive, so losing those made everything so much harder; I didn't know how to swim before the task. But I managed to get to the surface, to kick to the surface, but I breathed in a bit of water. That was why I was coughing and spluttering so much when I surfaced; I had breathed in water that I was trying to cough up, and I was struggling to breath in the air that I really needed before I ended up going under again."

The incident in the lake had made him scared of the water, scared of swimming. If he had been able to swim, if the Dursleys had decided he deserved to learn how to swim, he probably wouldn't have struggled as much. As it was, he was now terrified of deep water and of swimming.

"I had wondered why you struggled so much once you surfaced," Hermione said.

"Yeah, I was trying to breathe and not choke on water at the same time, which is difficult at the best of times, let alone when you're trying to learn how to swim in clothes at the same time. I was grateful when you guys helped pull us out," Harry said.

"Why don't you know how to swim?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry smiled slightly. Mrs. Weasley seemed to always try to see the best in people and be optimistic, meaning she just didn't understand how terrible his relatives were. Plus, she also struggled to understand why other parents didn't love their children and show it in the same way she did.  
"I never had swimming lessons and we don't live close to any water. Plus, I never went with them when they went to the beach."

"Why ever not?"

"Beach days only happened once a year, and only if Dudley was good, because the beach was so far away. That meant that beach day was a family day, and they don't consider me family." He gave her a wry smile, not bothered at all about what had happened in his childhood; it was in the past and it was just how things were.

"What about the maze? We have no clue what happened, we could only see the outside hedge," Ron said.

"Well, I split from Cedric at the first intersection. I didn't encounter any obstacles until I reached a boggart. It turned into a dementor and the first thing I thought of was my Patronus. When the dementor stumbled I realized it was a boggart rather than an actual dementor, which, looking back, makes sense. Anyway, the next obstacle I met was a mist that, when stepped through, switched the sky and the ground. The only way to keep going was to take a step, which was the last thing on my mind since it seemed like, if I lifted my foot then I would fall into the sky.

"Then I heard Fleur scream and just yanked my foot up so I could keep going. I continued on and next encountered a Skrewt. It was huge, like double what they had been in our lessons, and the only way I could get past it was by managing to hit it on its underbelly, since its protective armor kept rebounding my spells back at me. I eventually hit it with an impedimenta and managed to run past it while it was frozen. Then I heard Cedric scream and the spell I never wanted to hear be used. I managed to get to Cedric to help him, and I stunned Krum from behind. I sent up red sparks for Krum and made sure Cedric was ok and able to keep going without collapsing before splitting off again."

"What happened to Cedric? We heard him scream," Ron asked. Harry grimaced.

"He was put under the cruciatus."

"Why wasn't Krum jailed? That's an unforgivable."

"Krum was under the Imperio spell at the time, according to Fake Moody," he explained, careful to say Fake Moody rather than Barty Jr, as none of them actually knew who had been posing as Moody, only that someone had been.

"Anyway, after splitting off from Cedric again, I ran into a Sphinx. The way past her was the quickest way to the cup, so I had to answer her riddle correctly, otherwise she would attack me with the intention of eating me, which is a pleasant thought. It took me a while, but I eventually reached an answer and she let me pass. At the end of the path I was on was the cup, and Cedric had just appeared from a different path and was ahead of me. Then I saw a Acromantula appear behind him. I yelled at him to watch out and he turned just in time to miss the spider's pincers. We worked together to down it, since one spell at a time wasn't enough to make an impact. During the fight I ended up being picked up in the Acromantula's pincers and held above the ground, with a wound on my leg that was covered in a sticky substance, and I still don't know what it was. Cedric got the spider to drop me, but I broke my leg when I landed. Then both our spells hit at the same time, stunning the creature.

"Cedric and I argued about who should take the cup. He said I should since I saved him twice in the maze and I told him that he was closer and had actually wanted to be in the tournament. Eventually we agreed to take it together. So then Cedric helped me to the cup, and we touched it at the same time.   
"And that concludes how I almost died during the tasks for the tournament," he finished. 


	8. The Graveyard and Fake Moody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, with the help of Sirius, tells the others what happened in the graveyard, before explaining about his encounter with Fake Moody.

"The cup was a portkey, wasn't it?" Mr. Weasley asked. Harry nodded.

"It was."

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. It was so recent, and it sounded painful enough to recount once," Sirius said gently. Harry shook his head.

"No, I want to, but I'm … not sure how much I'll be able to … say. It's still very painful … to think about." He took a deep breath, steeling himself, before continuing.

"As soon as Cedric and I touched it we were port keyed to a graveyard. I'm pretty sure it was in Little Hang-something, if I remember the sign I saw, but I might be wrong, since I was in considerable pain when I saw the sign. Anyway, as soon as we touched down there was a high voice that said, 'kill the spare'. My scar was burning, and I had collapsed, so I only saw the flash of green light and heard the thump as … as his body hit the ground." He had to stop here, to steady himself, taking a few deep breaths before he could continue, the guilt of Cedric being killed due to simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time still weighing heavily on him.

"I was tied up to a gravestone, a gravestone with the name Tom Riddle on it." He head Ginny gasp at the name, but continued on, not wanting to stop if he didn't have to.

"The man who had … killed Cedric brought a large cauldron over and started a fire under it. My head was still screaming at me and I struggled to focus on what was happening. The man appeared again, and I saw him holding something in a bundle, like a baby." He stopped again, trying to rid the image of that Voldemort from his mind. He couldn't describe it, wouldn't even if he could because he wouldn't subject the others to the image. He hadn't even noticed that he had avoided Wormtail's name, the name of the traitor, of the one who had aided in his kidnapping and torture too painful to say.

"The man dropped it in the cauldron and I desperately hoped for it to drown; my head was telling me it was Voldemort. The man took dust from the grave below me. 'Bones of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son'. The man then..." he shook his head, choked up slightly as the memories whirled through his mind. The sight of Wormtail cutting off his own hand, the plunk as it hit the water.

"He cut off his own hand. 'Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will resurrect your master'. The man moved to me then," Harry whispered, before stopping. He gestured to his arm, right where Wormtail had cut him to take his blood.

"Harry's blood was taken as the final ingredient," Sirius said, understanding that Harry couldn't say it. Harry nodded, giving his godfather a strained smile as he fought to keep his emotions under control.

"'Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe'," Harry whispered, feeling that the words were needed, even as they were painful to say.

"Do you want me to continue kiddo?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything else. He was now glad that Sirius had heard his story already.

"I only know what Harry told us after the task in Dumbledore's office. Voldemort rose from the cauldron. The ritual with his fathers blood, a servant's flesh, and an enemy's blood had returned him to his body. Only, with Harry's blood in him, he could touch Harry without harm, even as Harry would experience immense pain." Sirius paused there, glancing over to Harry who had curled up into himself slightly, much like Ginny had during the tale of the Chamber. Harry nodded again, silently giving Sirius permission to keep going.

"He summoned his Death Eaters and went around naming them and expressing his disappointment. He told his story about everything that had happened over the years since he fell, scorning them for not trying to find him. He praised those who hadn't renounced him and waited in Azkaban. He told of those who would die for their treachery and turning traitor. He gave a silver hand to the man who had sacrificed his own. Then he turned to Harry, wanting to show that Harry was weak. Harry didn't say what he did." Everyone looked over to Harry, who was rocking slightly, tears silently sliding down his face as his memories slowly replayed in front of his eyes. Sirius moved over so that he was next to Harry, simply holding him and whispering reassuring words in his ear. He held Harry until Harry calmed down.

"He cursed me, and then challenged me to a duel," Harry muttered, not wanting to part with the knowledge of what he had been cursed with. He hadn't told Sirius or Dumbledore that it had been the Cruciatus; that was something he didn't want to tell anyone.

"Do you want me to keep going? Or do you want to?" Sirius asked, looking down at the teen who hadn't made a move to get out of the embrace.

"I'll go. We fought. I got hit a few times, but nothing major. Then our spells connected, and we were moved to an area away from all the gravestone. A golden thread connected our wands. And then the echoes of spells Voldemort had cast appeared. First it was screams, and then a smoke image of the hand." He swallowed. The next bit was the hardest.  
"Then Cedric. Two more people, a man and then a woman. Then mum and then dad." Tears were streaming down his cheeks again and he had to stop, trying to regain control over his breathing. Sirius arms tightened around him slightly, and he focused on the comforting pressure surrounding him.

"They told me … things. They told me how to get away. Cedric asked … for me to bring his … body back. They moved to Voldemort and I ran. I made it back to Cedric and summoned the cup and was taken back to Hogwarts," Harry finished. The words his parents had spoken to him were private, something he wasn't willing to share. Dumbledore had stopped him from saying that night, saying they were words for him and him alone.

The group sat in silence for a while. Harry was trying to stop the tears streaming down his cheeks and the quiet, choked sobs that were escaping him. The others were trying to fully absorb what they had been told, they had only been told that Voldemort had returned after kidnapping Harry, while also giving Harry the time that he needed.

A while later Harry managed to calm himself down and looked up from where he had his face buried in Sirius' chest. He looked around at the people who were in the room, most of them with tear tracks visible on their faces. He smiled slightly, receiving small smiles in return. They continued to sit in silence for a while, simply letting Harry recover more from the painful story. He would have most likely collapsed like that over some of the other stories if he had to tell them after only recently going through them, so he understood why he had that reaction to that story and not the others, which was why he wasn't ashamed about breaking down; the others just weren't as fresh.

"Should I keep going?" he asked eventually. They had been sitting in silence for about half an hour and he felt a lot better; the graveyard would simply visit him again in his nightmares, not that that wasn't a common occurrence.

"If you're up to it," Remus replied. Harry nodded.

"While Dumbledore was trying to work out what to do after I got back, Moody led me off, saying that he was taking me to the hospital wing since I was injured. Instead, he led me up to his office, sitting me down in his chair and asking me questions. He asked me if the Dark Lord had returned. I was in shock and simply nodded; it didn't even process that only those who had served, or at least sympathized with, Voldemort called him the Dark Lord. He asked if the Dark Lord had tortured those who had returned, punished them for turning their backs on him after he fell. I suddenly remembered that Voldemort had mentioned that he had a loyal spy at the school, and I tried to warn Moody, thinking it was Karkaroff, like you said earlier in the year Siri.

"He laughed, saying that Karkaroff had fled like the coward he was when he felt the mark burn, too scared to face those he had betrayed. He then told me that it was him who had put my name in the Goblet. Him who had convinced Hagrid to show me the dragons and then him who had nudged me in the direction of using my broom. It was him who told Cedric how to hear the egg, knowing Cedric would repay the favor and tell me. He said it was him who made sure Dobby knew that Gillyweed would help me breath underwater, and him who had tried to make it so I knew what to do by planting a book about those types of plants with Neville at the start of the year. How it was him who had turned the Cup into a portkey when he placed it at the center of the maze. How it was him who got rid of the obstacles in my path, him who had Imperioed Krum so he would take out the other competition. And then he said that it would be him who delivered my dead body to the Dark Lord.

"Throughout the whole story I was so confused. My mind was sluggish, and I was processing everything so slowly. By the time I realized that he was pointing a wand at me, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape had stormed into the room and dealt with him. Then Moody turned out to be Fake Moody, a Death Eater everyone thought had died in Azkaban Polyjuiced to look like Moody, while real Moody was half dead inside his trunk. Fake Moody confessed everything under Veritaserum. How his father got him out of Azkaban disguised as his mother, as his mother's dying wish. How his mother died in Azkaban in his place while he was put under the Imperious and was looked after by a house elf. How he had broken out of his father's control at the Quidditch World cup and stole a wand, using it to send the Dark Mark into the sky, to be put back under when his father took him home.

"How his Lord had eventually heard of his continued existence, and then come and freed him from his father's control, turning the Imperious on him instead. How he was tasked to infiltrate Hogwarts so I would be kidnapped for the ritual to bring Voldemort back. And then Dumbledore took me up to his office, while McGonagall guarded him so that Fudge could come up and hear the story himself." Harry sighed, slumping back into Sirius' embrace slightly as he finished his final tale.


	9. Anything Else You'd Like to Share?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Weasleys, Sirius, and Remus find out about those extra details that the trio had been careful to leave out of their stories.

Sirius held him tight as he simply enjoyed the feeling of being held by an adult he trusted.

"Oh, and I suppose you could just round the count up to 20 near-death experiences if you count the Dementors last week," he added tiredly. "But that wasn't at Hogwarts."

"That is still 20 times more than I would have wanted you to almost have died," Sirius said.

"It could be 21 if you want it to be. Technically, having the killing curse cast on me when I was one was a near-death experience, considering I should have died and somehow didn't."

"Let's try and keep the number as low as possible Harry," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"And let's hope that the next few years don't bring as many opportunities to nearly die while at school," Ron added. 

"Well, we'll have a new Defense teacher. And, the odds don't look too good for me," Harry said, easing himself out of Sirius' hold; he had a feeling that Sirius wouldn't like what he was about to say, even if he had basically already said it all, and he knew that Sirius sometimes forgot his own strength.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well. I'm running four for four at the moment," he said. The others all nodded slightly since he had just explained all that.

"Quirrell tried to choke me. Lockhart tried to wipe my memory. Of course, you didn't mean to Remus, but you totally went werewolf on me. And then Moody was actually Fake Moody and an escaped Death Eater in disguise. So, I figure that there's a 100% chance of the new Defense teacher attacking me in June. It's 50/50 that they'll try to kill me, and we'll throw in a 25% chance of an Unforgivable being used." He then turned to Hermione.

"Did I get the math right?"

"You did. And I hate that it's true," Hermione sighed.

"Wait, what did you say?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Which part?" Harry asked, honestly not sure what he had picked up.

"The part about Lockhart."

"Oh. Lockhart tried to," he began, before stopping with the sudden realization that he had deliberately not included that part in his earlier explanation. Oh well, too late now.  
"He tried to wipe my memory. And Ron's. He was going to claim that we lost our minds at the sight of Ginny's mangled body. Pretty sure he was going to leave us there to die, not entirely sure though," he continued casually, even as he was swearing up a storm in his head.

"He tried to what!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"Tried to Obliviate us," Ron repeated hesitantly.

"You didn't mention that in your tale, Harry," Sirius said through gritted teeth.

"Didn't I? I could have sworn that I said he tried to wipe our minds and memories, but the wand backfired, wiping his mind instead and causing the cave in. Did I not?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as innocent as possible, even though he knew it was pointless.

"No, you didn't mention that. You just said that a spell didn't work and ended up making the roof collapse," Sirius replied.

"Huh. Must have slipped my mind," he dismissed.

"Anything else just happen to slip your mind in regard to your tales?" Remus asked shrewdly. Harry bit his lip and shrugged. He knew that Remus would pick up on his nerves and press the issue, but he wasn't going to make it easy. He had deliberately left those things out and he was going to fight against letting the details out.

"Harry," Remus pressed, his voice holding a note of warning.

"Maybe?" he offered.

"What did you leave out?" Sirius asked.

"Well, you asked who Norberta was. I did leave out Norberta, who was called Norbert at the time. And Norbert may have been the reason we were out after curfew in the first place which landed us in detention," Harry said, remembering that Mr. Weasley had said they would come back to that.

"And who is Norberta? And why did Charlie tell you how she was doing?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, Norberta is a dragon. A Norwegian Ridgeback," Harry replied, cursing his luck.

"Where did you get a dragon?" Fred and George asked together.

"Hagrid somehow acquired a dragon egg and hatched it in his fire. He was planning on raised Norbert in his house. Regardless of the fact that he lives in a wooden house," Hermione said.

"Harry suggested that I ask Charlie, so I contacted him, and some of his friends, who were passing by, came and collected Norbert and took him to the reserve that Charlie works at," Ron added. The adults were silent for a while, clearly processing that.

"Anything else you'd like to share?" Remus asked, an eyebrow raised. Harry smiled sheepishly.

"I didn't get detention because I was in the hospital wing getting my hand tended to because Norbert bit me and my hand turned green and swelled a lot," Ron said.

"I was indisposed during second year because something in the school was petrifying people and I was petrified," Hermione added.

"Petrified?" Sirius asked. "What was petrifying people in a school?"

"The very large snake that I dealt with at the end of the year," Harry replied.

"And how did a snake petrifying people? I don't remember you saying that the very large snake was anything other than venomous," Remus said. 

"I may have, uh, skipped a few other things?" Harry offered. The four adults in the room all stared at him. Their expressions all said speak now. He squirmed slightly under all their gazes before relenting.

"At the end of first year the reason Quirrell didn't kill me was because he got burnt whenever he touched my skin and I ended up burning him to death. People were getting petrified all through the year in second year. The Chamber of Secrets was opened and the Heir of Slytherin was controlling the monster in the Chamber. Ginny was kidnapped because she had tried to stop the Heir of Slytherin, who had been possessing her through a diary. The Heir of Slytherin who was possessing Ginny was called Tom Marvolo Riddle, but you know him better as Lord Voldemort. The very large snake in the Chamber was actually a Basilisk and everyone was lucky to have only been petrified and not killed. The Death Eater who tried to kill me was Barty Crouch Jr," Harry said in a rush. As the adults started processing everything he had said, he stood up, wanting to escape before they fully processed what he had said.

"Well, I have things to do. Homework to complete, things to study, you know how it is. See you at dinner." He quickly exited the room, hearing Ron and Hermione make their own excuses before escaping as well. They all headed up to Harry and Ron's shared room, closing the door and locking it behind them.

"How long before they come up to start fussing over us do you reckon?" Harry asked, reclining against the headboard of his bed. They heard hurried footsteps on the stairs leading up from the second floor, while their bedroom was on the fourth.

"A minute? Maybe less?" Hermione offered. They didn't get a chance to answer though, because the footsteps had reached their door and they could hear multiple people trying to get in, probably to interrogate more details out of him.

"Harry, you need to explain. Now."

"Well, we're stuck," Ron said. The three looked at each other and started laughing. He had left those things out for a reason. The adults just had to accept that his life was never calm. And to be honest, he would probably almost die at least twice more before the end of the next school year. That was just the Potter Luck.


End file.
